telegraph

[ tel-i-graf, -grahf ]

/ ˈtɛl ɪˌgræf, -ˌgrɑf /

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See synonyms for: telegraph / telegraphed / telegraphing on Thesaurus.com

noun

an apparatus, system, or process for transmitting messages or signals to a distant place, especially by means of an electric device consisting essentially of a sending instrument and a distant receiving instrument connected by a conducting wire or other communications channel.

Nautical. an apparatus, usually mechanical, for transmitting and receiving orders between the bridge of a ship and the engine room or some other part of the engineering department.

a message sent by telegraph; a telegram.

verb (used with object)

to transmit or send (a message) by telegraph.

to send a message to (a person) by telegraph.

Informal. to divulge or indicate unwittingly (one's intention, next offensive move, etc.), as to an opponent or to an audience; broadcast: The fighter telegraphed his punch and his opponent was able to parry it. If you act nervous too early in the scene, you'll telegraph the character's guilt.

verb (used without object)

to send a message by telegraph.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of telegraph

<French télégraphe (1792) a kind of manual signaling device; see tele-¹, -graph

OTHER WORDS FROM telegraph

te·leg·ra·pher

[tuh-leg-ruh-fer] /təˈlɛg rə fər/ especially British, te·leg·ra·phist, nounpre·tel·e·graph, adjectivere·tel·e·graph, verbun·tel·e·graphed, adjective

Words nearby telegraph

telegenic, telegnosis, Telegonus, telegony, telegram, telegraph, telegraph buoy, telegraphese, telegraphic, telegraphone, telegraph plant

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use telegraph in a sentence

The telegraph had been invented about 40 years earlier, giving meteorologists the ability to communicate quickly between disparate locations—a prerequisite for predicting how storms will evolve.
Kites, balloons, and blueberries|Saima May Sidik, SM ’21|August 24, 2022|MIT Technology Review
Bringing inventions “to scale” in large markets was precisely the aim of big companies such as General Electric or American Telephone & Telegraph, which was then the national telephone monopoly.
What made the last century’s great innovations possible?|Jon Gertner|March 18, 2022|Science News
Messages from across the Atlantic used to come by boat, she says, then came copper cables to relay telegraph dispatches in the 1840s.
Materials of the last century shaped modern life, but at a price|Carolyn Wilke|January 28, 2022|Science News
In exchange for allowing it to provide universal telephone service, the US government required AT&T to stay out of other communication businesses, first by selling its telegraph subsidiary and later by steering clear of computing.
Where computing might go next|Margaret O’Mara|October 27, 2021|MIT Technology Review

In May 1861, federal agents descended on Northern telegraph offices and seized transcribed messages in bulk.
Modern capitalism is inseparable from surveillance|Josh Lauer, Kenneth Lipartito|September 22, 2021|Washington Post
The Daily Telegraph's Lisa Armstrong called the show a "stupendously vacuous enterprise."
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian’s Balmain Campaign: High Fashion Meets Low Culture|Amy Zimmerman|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Obama said, through laughter, according to an eyewitness report of the meeting in The Telegraph.
When Your Royalty Met Ours: Kate Meets Bey Courtside|Tom Sykes|December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Mr Obama said, through laughter, according to an eyewitness report of the meeting in The Telegraph.
Kate Middleton and Prince William's $2m Dinner|Tom Sykes|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Telegraph reports that he is fluent in Swahili and a keen zoologist.
How A British Aristocrat Used Big Game Hunter’s Sperm To Get Pregnant Without His Permission|Tom Sykes|December 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“Unlike Turkey or Egypt, we have no art-historical tradition,” he told The Telegraph in 2002.
The Mysterious Death of the Art World’s Favorite Sheikh|Lizzie Crocker|November 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the telegraph office a young signaler was sending a thrilling message to Umballa, Lahore and the north.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
As there were no telegraph lines, another way had to be provided by which messages might be quickly sent.
Our Little Korean Cousin|H. Lee M. Pike
Flocks of birds seemed to sing through the air, striking against the telegraph wires.
A Lost Hero|Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward and Herbert D. Ward
Suppose he should receive an acceptance by letter or telegraph but deny it, and insist that no contract had been made.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman|Albert Sidney Bolles
He proceeded to the tall telegraph pole and swarmed quickly up it.
The Campfire Girls of Roselawn|Margaret Penrose

British Dictionary definitions for telegraph

telegraph

/ (ˈtɛlɪˌɡræf, -ˌɡrɑːf) /

noun

a device, system, or process by which information can be transmitted over a distance, esp using radio signals or coded electrical signals sent along a transmission line connected to a transmitting and a receiving instrument
(as modifier)telegraph pole

a message transmitted by such a device, system, or process; telegram

verb

to send a telegram to (a person or place); wire

(tr) to transmit or send by telegraph

(tr) boxing informal to prepare to deliver (a punch) so obviously that one's opponent has ample time to avoid it

(tr) to give advance notice of (anything), esp unintentionally

(tr) Canadian informal to cast (votes) illegally by impersonating registered voters

Derived forms of telegraph

telegraphist (tɪˈlɛɡrəfɪst) or telegrapher, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for telegraph

telegraph

[ tĕl′ĭ-grăf′ ]

A communications system in which a message in the form of short, rapid electric impulses is sent, either by wire or radio, to a receiving station. Morse code is often used to encode messages in a form that is easily transmitted through electric impulses.

telegraph

Origin of telegraph

OTHER WORDS FROM telegraph

Words nearby telegraph

Words related to telegraph

How to use telegraph in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for telegraph

Derived forms of telegraph

Scientific definitions for telegraph